the 2012 Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell will feature three players that have already lifted the popular trophy at the Real Club Tenis Barcelona. Six-time champion Rafael Nadal is the hot favorite to defend his 2011 title while Fernando Verdasco, who claimed the title in 2010, and 2001 winner Juan Carlos Ferrer also seek to repeat their triumph at the historic clay court tournament.

Spain’s World No. 2 Nadal, who has not won an ATP tournament since last year’s Roland Garros title, will aim for his seventh title in Barcelona, a tremendous record considering that he is followed by tennis greats Mats Wilander and Manuel Orantes with two Trofeo Conde de Godó crowns to their names.

All eyes will also be on Verdasco. The Spanish World No. 19 reappears at the Real Club Tenis Barcelona after he did not participate at the tournament last year although he was defending the title. The brilliant left-hander, who recently reentered the Top 20, has not lifted an ATP trophy since his 2010 final victory over Robin Soderling at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell.

Former World No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero, who is one of the top veteran players on the ATP World Tour, has recovered on time to compete in the Catalan capital. Before his recent injury, Ferrero has only clinched one victory in the current season, defeating Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Kukushkin in the Davis Cup first round tie. The Spaniard got defeated in five first round matches in 2012 – a losing streak he seeks to end on home soil.

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Lendl has been one of my favorites for years, he's underrated IMO.So glad to see he's getting some attention.

Now that he's Andy's coach maybe people will recognize the amazing career he had.

Also he was as close to an emotionless robot as anyone.

I don't think he is underrated, he reached a record 9 consecutive USO finals. enough said.he didn't show feelings playing and that made him unpopular but he had quite strong emotional reactions from time to time.one against compatriot Mecir is a classic.

I don't even know about that one off hand.You are somewhat amazing, lady.

World short course champion Mireia Belmonte, who seeks to participate in six swimming disciplines at the 2012 London Olympic Games, will be the special guest the 2012 Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell, making the draw for the singles and doubles competition.

After last year’s draw ceremony was attended by Australia’s tennis legend Roy Emerson, the tournament organizers recover the tradition of inviting a top Catalan athlete to the draw, which will be supervised by ATP member Carlos Sanches.

The draw will take place in the VIP Village at the stand of title sponsor Banc Sabadell on the first day of the qualifiers, Saturday, 21 April, at noon.

Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell has a 56-player draw so only the Top 8 seeds all receive a BYE in the 1st round and await the 24 winners of the 1st round matches in the 2nd round.

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Dr. Angel Ruiz-Cotorro, director of the Clínica Mapfre de Medicina del Tenis, is ready for the 2012 Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell, providing medical assistance for the players and tournament organizers during the ATP World Tour 500 Event. Before focusing on the medical help during the tournament, the renowned doctor underlines the importance of prevention for professional tennis players.

“The tennis player has finally understood that tennis is prevention. In the past years, they took their time to recover and for medical checks and tests during the six-week off-season. As players have less time today, the medical checks must be more rigorous, cardiovascular, musculoskeletal, respiratory, etc.., so they are more protected during the competition,” explained Cotorro.

Ruiz-Cotorro stresses the importance of precaution. "The pathology of tennis is more micro traumatic than in other sports. The competition is demanding and players compete 25 to 30 weeks a year. Some of them during the entire week," said the doctor, who welcomes the fact that most players are conscious and care about their health and fitness.

Ruiz-Cotorro talks about the risk of playing on different surfaces, mentioning that “in the past it influenced the players more. However, players adapt better to the different surfaces today although the risk over overload is higher. Overload occurs if players don’t get a chance to rest or take a break.”

According to the doctor, “young players between 17 and 20 years face an even bigger risk of overload, playing qualifiers, futures and challengers.”

Ruiz-Cotorro says that tennis has changed: “The better equipment (balls, rackets and surfaces) make the game faster and more demanding for the player, which creates new pathologies that need to be controlled and prevented,” he explained.

“Tennis has developed faster than we thought. We have to realize that there are players who at 30 have already undergone a hip surgery, to name the injury that concerns us the most.”

Solutions? Dr. Ruiz-Cotorro says that prevention needs to be adapted at an earlier age: “We must start to work with tennis player earlier, with children from 5 to 15 years, to minimize the impact tennis has on their health and fitness when they are older,” he said, concluding that coaches, physiotherapists and doctors have to work together.

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Only few days ahead of the 2012 Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell, tournament host Real Club Tenis Barcelona is ready to showcase the 60th anniversary of the ATP World Tour 500 Event. The Center Court stands have been set up over the past weeks, displaying the logo of Barcelona’s prestigious tennis club.

The redevelopment of the Pista Central will improve the quality of the seating and the visibility for spectators as the light poles have already been removed. The Center Court’s capacity will increase to 8,400 seats, allowing 6% more spectators into the stadium than in previous years and improving the visibility for all tennis fans.

The 2012 Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell will be held from 21 to 29 April. Chief care taker Antonio Blasco confirmed that the clay-court “is in perfect condition to host the event.”

The tournament will feature five top 10 players this year with Spain’s defending champion and top seed Rafael Nadal, World No. 4 Andy Murray, Spain’s David Ferrer, Czech Tomas Berdych and Serbia’s Janko Tipsarevic.

More members of the Spanish Armada and the emerging stars of the ATP World Tour will guarantee an exciting tennis tournament in Barcelona. Come to the Real Club Tenis Barcelona and watch Nicolas Almagro, Feliciano Lopez, Kei Nishikori, Milos Raonic and Bernard Tomic live in action.

The 2012 Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell will be held from 21 to 29 April. Chief care taker Antonio Blasco confirmed that the clay-court “is in perfect condition to host the event.”

The tournament will feature five top 10 players this year with Spain’s defending champion and top seed Rafael Nadal, World No. 4 Andy Murray, Spain’s David Ferrer, Czech Tomas Berdych and Serbia’s Janko Tipsarevic.

More members of the Spanish Armada and the emerging stars of the ATP World Tour will guarantee an exciting tennis tournament in Barcelona. Come to the Real Club Tenis Barcelona and watch Nicolas Almagro, Feliciano Lopez, Kei Nishikori, Milos Raonic and Bernard Tomic live in action.

« Last Edit: April 18, 2012, 11:22:54 PM by conchita »

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Fernando Verdasco, Feliciano López and Milos Raonic, three tennis stars to participate at the 2012 Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell, will model for the company Mango in the center of Barcelona this weekend. The tennis stars will pose for pictures and sign autographs at the Mango store on Passeig de Gràcia 65.

The photo shoot takes place this Saturday, 21 April, at 5 p.m. Official tournament partner Mango provides the equipment for ballkids and linesmen at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell.

2010 Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell champion Verdasco is only one of three players to participate at the 2012 tournament that have already lifted the popular tennis trophy. Only his fellow Spaniards Rafael Nadal and Juan Carlos Ferrero share this honor with the 28-year-old left-hander.

World No. 16 Lopez and Canada’s emerging star Raonic seek to improve their best result achieved at the Real Club Tenis Barcelona last year. Both players lost against Croatia’s Ivan Dodig in 2011, Raonic in the third round and the Spaniard in the quarter-finals.

Mango became partner of the tournament in 2011. With over 10,000 workers all over the world, Mango is the second biggest clothing company in Spain and has more than 2,060 stores located in 104 countries, 350 points of sale having been added in only one year.

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The first tennis stars have arrived at the Real Club Tenis Barcelona today, getting ready for the 2012 Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell. While the top seeds Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray are still playing at the Monte Carlo Masters, Canada’s Milos Raonic and Spain’s Feliciano Lopez held a training session on the Pista Central to try out the clay court.

Coached by former ATP pro Galo Blanco, Raonic lives in Barcelona and feels at home at tournament host Real Club Tenis Barcelona. The emerging tennis star seeks to improve last year’s debut in the Catalan capital, when he lost to Ivan Dodig in the third round.

World No. 16 Lopez is faithful to the ATP World Tour 500 Event at his club. The 30-year-old left-hander has not missed out on the Trofeo Conde de Godo since his debut in 2001, playing his record 12th consecutive tournament this year. Last year he reached his best result, falling to the same rival as today’s training partner Raonic. Croatia’s Dodig dismissed Lopez in the quarter-finals.

Argentina’s World No. 14 Juan Monaco was forced to withdraw from the 2012 Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell due to a foot injury he suffered from at the Masters 1000 event in Monte Carlo.

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Tournament host Real Club Tenis Barcelona is set to showcase the 2012 Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell. With the prestigious tournament celebrating the 60th anniversary this year, the ballkids posed for the first official picture at the Center Court, signaling the start of the ATP World Tour 500 Event.

The Ballkids, line judges and chair umpires of the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell will be equipped by Mango for the 2012 edition. The elegant and modern clothing displays a logo with the number 60, referring to the tournament anniversary.

The qualifiers of the 2012 Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell will kick off tomorrow at the Real Club Tenis Barcelona.

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(6) Joao Souza (POR) vs (Alt) Steven Diez (CAN) - I thought Souza was BRA, but in any event, I want to see more of this guy, not because I think he'll be any good, but because he's a beast! He looks like an NFL linebacker

Evgeny Korolev (KAZ) vs (10) Simone Vagnozzi (ITA) - Did Korolev retire? Haven't seen that name in a long time.

(6) Joao Souza (POR) vs (Alt) Steven Diez (CAN) - I thought Souza was BRA, but in any event, I want to see more of this guy, not because I think he'll be any good, but because he's a beast! He looks like an NFL linebacker

Evgeny Korolev (KAZ) vs (10) Simone Vagnozzi (ITA) - Did Korolev retire? Haven't seen that name in a long time.

sorry, that was a typing error, the qualifier is Joa Sousa, from Portugal, Joao Souza is in the top 100 and would have probably make it to the main draw. I have not see him yet.Korolev played this year a davis cup dead rubber against Almagro and lost 63 64.

the big rumor is that Ferru was injured in Montecarlo and maybe he is going to pull out. sad.

very disappointing there's not yet an OOP for tomorrow in the official websites of the atp or the touramebt.

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